As a whole, we typically don't comment on television here but in the case of Breaking Bad we felt it necessary........
Breaking Bad came at a time when television was mostly lackluster. It delivered something realistic and new that people had never seen before. It strayed from over produced reality programming trends while offering a fresh new original series that would become one of the best television shows to ever find it's way to our living rooms. It was cold in it's presentation, hyper violent at times, and definitely broke the stereotypes of modern televised dramas. Unlike the fox show 24, if you died in Breaking Bad world you weren't coming back. There were no second chances. This wasn't a game. This was the world of Walter White's meth empire and no one was escaping unscathed.
Breaking Bad featured a methodical and genius lead character that not only pushed the envelope of what was expected from a dramatic series but truly went to the furthest dynamic limits while dividing its audience right down the middle. Were you team Walter White or Team Jesse? Breaking Bad was one of the only times in television history that audiences were decisively split down the middle. With most tv shows audiences know who the bad guy is and they typically tend to side with the good guy. With Breaking Bad, there was always a fine line between good and evil. As the five seasons slowly unfolded, Walter's intentions became resoundingly clear but that line was progressively blurred to keep audiences captive.Breaking Bad was always hyper realistic in its presentation. The writers offered just enough back story to keep characters interesting and never veered off in to the strange or surreal. The story lines were always relevant to Walter's journey and loose ends were nowhere to be found. Out of all the shows I've ever religiously watched, Breaking Bad is one of the only shows that always remained true to itself while never becoming a caricature of past episodes.
Numerous articles and sites have called Breaking Bad the best television series ever. While it's hard to say something so definitive, it's apparent that this show will leave it's mark on the world of cable programming for years to come. Shows will imitate its style and some will try to capitalize on its popularity. But none will ever recreate the winning formula that Vince Gilligan cooked up with Breaking Bad.With this short article, we bid farewell to Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. We truly hope that future writers take a note from the Breaking Bad playbook so they can deliver characters and stories that are just as twisted but endearing as the ones found on this excellent show.
-Chris George